Before You Know Kindness Audiobook

" This book reminded me a great deal of Jodi Picoult's novels, in that it sets a family against the backdrop of ethical and moral issues that can either bring them together or tear them apart. I enjoyed reading the story of how an accidental (or was it?) shooting affected all the family dynamics, and even rippled out beyond the family. A quiet but compelling read. "

" I enjoyed it, but the amount of points of view was a little out of control. Since I am used to Jodi Piccoult's mastery of different voices, Bohjalian's lack was blatant. Characters did not have unique voices, were in a consistently distant third person and not even separated into different chapters. "

" I liked the book, but it took me an unusually long time to get through it, particularly the first half. Perhaps it's because I didn't really relate to any of the characters, although they were well-developed. At any rate , others of his books I have kept to reread - this one, I don't believe I will. "

" The story is pretty good, but the author gets bogged down in excruciating detail that drove me nuts. A huge section of the book dragged on and on, and it felt like I was stuck in a loop. Plus, he went from extreme chaos to extreme tidiness, which irritated me. "

" I read this for my Book Discussion Group. Some members loved it, others thought it could have been better. I was in the latter group. It had too many themes going on, and way too much filler. "

" I was really excited to read this book because his style of writing and topics are very similar to Jodi Picoult's and it is also one of her favorite authors. However, I really lost interest immediately after the main event of the story occurred. I was pretty disappointed in the storyline. It was really predictable and lost steam after the accident. "

" This book cannot compare to Bohjalian's best known work, Midwives. It is, however, a decent read with interesting insight into families and the underlying (and obvious)tensions that ran rampant throughout. Gun control and animal rights are also predominant themes. "

" Not one of Chris Bohjalian's best. It started out with a bang and then it was easy to lose interest. It should have been 100 pages shorter. He explores the topics of gun control and animal rights and gives the reader lots to think about. "

" A solid family novel, with a bit of a mystery and a relatively complex story. Some of the writing was less than smooth (e.g. Te word "abstracted" was used at least three times), but all in all a good read. "

" Stuck with it and I wanted to get better and it never did so slow "

" By the author of Midwives, which I also really enjoyed. It took at little while to get into it, but it's got the same kind of tension and legal issues. This one is a debate around animal rights activists vs gun control as it affects one family. "

" If you are looking for something as rivetting as Midwives, you won' find it in this book. That being said, this isn't a bad read, it is a family drama with likable characters and reminded a bit of Jodi Picoult's family dramas. "

" I thought this was OK. So much better than Skeletons at the Feast which I found unreadable. This was quite listenable. I could have sworn that I had got the full version from the library but I guess I got the abridged. I don't know if that made it better or not though. "

" For some reason I believe this book was good even though I am somewhat indifferent to it. I think it "

" Our first book club selection...I found it really interesting. It's not always enjoyable to read as I found I didn't like some of the characters. Th ending is a bit "neat", but it does provide satisfaction to the reader. "

" I REALLY need to read Midwives.. and Double Bind.. and Trans-sister Radio! What am I waiting for?! "

" Chris Bohjalian is a gifted writer who explores the many sides of a family in crisis, due to a shooting....wonderful... "

" Two families torn apart by an accident. Very sad. "

" Everytime I read Bohjalian i find out something new about myself and what I connect with. This author is amazing and all his work is well develop and you can feel him on the page. I appreciate his diversity and understanding of his subjects. "

" Not one of his best. Slow moving, and there is very little suspense. I kept thinking something would happen, and nothing ever did. "

" My favorite book by Bohjalian. Gripping from the start and intricate (if I remember correctly...) "

" I really enjoyed this book although Midwives is still my favorite. He has an amazing ability to write about people and their inner thoughts and motivations. "

" Not the best of Chris'. It took me a long time to read this book and it was story driven rather than character driven. I found it lack the compelling aspects of Midwives and Law of Similars, even Water Witches. "

" I didn't love this book but I couldn't stop reading it either. In the end, it was a solid story with all characters learning something about themselves and others. "

" Good book, not as good as The Double Bind though. The ending was along the lines of what you expected. Funny thing was that I realized about half way through that I had read it before. "

" The first quarter of this book has a lot of description and seems a little slow-moving, but if you get past that you will understand the characters better and really get into the book. This book really made me think about gun rights and animals rights. "

" Took a while to get going but I really enjoyed it. Very elegant writing full of social comment and sometimes very funny. "

" Unfortunately, I thought it was pretty slow reading. I had high hopes for this book but it took a while to get going and once it did, it kept moving at a slow pace with lots of repetition. The ending was, not surprisingly, predictable. "

" My first Bohjalian and I was hooked. I love the way he writes and enjoy the moral dilemmas. "

" I liked this book a lot but wouldn't say I loved it for a couple of reasons. I didn't like Chapter Thirty-Five where the author wraps up a part of the story from the viewpoint of a crow. Truly, unbelievable for a dramatic story like this one. "

" This is a great story revolving around the issue of gun control and family conflict...oops, that sounds bad! Well written as all of his books are and off the beaten path of thinking on the topic. "

" The first one of his that I read. Good story. "

" Pretty boring....glad when it was over.Family dynamics, vegetarian/vegan movement....taking it too far to where it effects relationships. "

" I abandoned this book. It was too slow. Not bad necessarily, just slow. I might go back to it one day. "